Old Men want an Old Man to Succeed Sharansky

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that “The US heads of the Jewish Agency and Jewish Federations of North America have given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a list of at least six candidates they deem worthy to succeed Natan Sharansky as Agency chairman…

The list includes Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz; opposition leader Isaac Herzog; Zionist Union MK Nachman Shai; Consul-General in New York Dani Dayan; Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer and former ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor.”

Assuming the accuracy of this report – and there is no reason to doubt it – it shows, once again, that the leadership of JFNA is totally out-of-touch with the needs of their own constituents.

While the Jewish Agency manages some stellar programs – camp shlichim and the Adaptive Leadership Lab are two that immediately come to mind – the absence of forward thinking leadership [and all too many losing public fights with the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption] have taken a meaningful toll on budgets, programs and employee morale. The Agency is unlikely to see improvement from the short list of possible successors.

The list also begs the querstion, “where are the female candidates?” A female has never served as JAFI’s Chair of the Executive. And, even under the archaic coalition commitments involving the choice of Chair – which JAFI’s board “claimed” to officially disregard a number of yeras ago – there are many prominient, capable women who should be considered.

The Agency – a storied player in Israel’s history – has needed to deal with smaller budgets and decreased influence every year. While the budget decreases are, to some extent, a result of less federation money allocated to core programs, the decreased influence is the direct result of uninspiring and ineffectual leaderhip.

Looking to a post-Shransky / Hoffman era, one does not see optimism. All of the proposed names come from a generation that needs to be phased out of our organizations to make room for the next generation of leaders – not enshrined by high profile, high-paying (for Israel) political positions for another four years or more.

As for the leadership of JFNA and the lay leadership of the Agency, it’s time to step up to the plate and make inspiring choices – ones that new generations of constituents can identify with. While MK Shai and Ambassador Prosor are both well qualified for the position, they – like all the others on the list – are simply out-of-touch with the demographics they need most to reach.

What it all comes down to is, the Jewish Agency cannot afford four more years like the past nine.

Dan Brown, the founder of eJewish Philanthropy, is a former member of the Jewish Agency Assembly.

You missed a point that the Prime Minister appoints..
other suggested names have been Stanley Fisher, David Harris,Michael Oren..
Not only leadership ability but charisma and fundraising acumen !
Replacing Hoffman is another necessary piece of the puzzle.

I didn’t miss the point. In fact, a few years ago when JAFI changed their Board governance policies I pointed that out. I was told at the time that JAFI’s BOG would have no problem rejecting the PM’s suggestion. I laughed then and I laugh now at the thought that would happen.

Sounds like the old boy network at play here. I agree about the need for women candidates for that position. But I have been duly impressed by Nakhman Shay’s considerable efforts at strengthening Jewish identity. Without doing the latter, you will not have a need for the Jewish Agency!!!

I may be wrong, but I believe the Chair of the Exec must hold Israeli citizenship. Not that that’s necessarily an unsolvavble problem – case in point – Stanley Fischer. But I think very few Diaspora candidates would have the stomach for the nastiness of coalition politics (which they won’t be able to avoid).

I am not a fan of putting someone’s name out there because they are female or young. I do support any candidate who is inspiring, a hard worker, can connect with multiple ages and types of communities, who understands the diaspora community and have good communication skills. I actually think some of those guys have it all! Having said that, I think that there are qualified women whose names should be included, and Dan, it would be interesting to see who you might consider for this list.

I would add former MK and interim President Dalia Itzik to the list, though I would prefer someone 15-20 years younger and without political baggage. I would support an “open call” for nominations with all politicans and political appointees, current, or who have served since 2010 excluded. I would encourage academics and entrepreneurs to nominate themselves by presenting a platform for the future; then convene the dormant Jewish Agency Assembly to select the Chair. I would not consider anyone from the Diaspora unless they are a proven rainmaker.

Of course this, or any variation of current practice, could not work. It would require a bylaws change that the “old men” of the board would never allow to happen.

It takes exactly 5 minutes for a Diaspora Jews to become an Israeli citizen. Not that I have a specific candidate in mind, but if JAFI is funded by world Jewry wouldn’t it be appropriate to consider a candidate from the funders / clients perspective?

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